I corrupted a youngun...

[Lonegun1894]

We were eating dinner last night when my 7yo daughter asked if she can shoot my "big old gun" sometime. Well, one thing led to another and this morning at the range, I got her to put down her .22 and pulled the CVA "Hawken" .50 out of the truck, along with everything else she'd need. Well, after a brief explanation of why everything goes in the "wrong end", she loaded the rifle with 20 grains of 3F, and a very loose fitting .454 PRB. I held the rifle the first couple shots while she pulled the trigger to convinve her that this combination doesnt kick, and then she started shooting. She loaded if for every shot herself, then would prop the rifle on my knee cause it's too heavy for her to hold level by herself, and then shoot and hit in the general vicinity of the target. All shots loaded easily, and she was all smiles the whole time. Her mom wasnt very impressed at first and questioned my thought process when she first saw her little angel pick up a rifle this size, but started smiling once she realized that maybe i didn't plan on letting her shoot my hunting loads out of it. I got drilled on the way home about when she gets to shoot the ML again. I just might have to bring it out for her from now on, and maybe look into replacing that .22 with a .32/.36 ML her size. Anyone know of either a good shrink for me, or a reasonably priced ML for her? Now if i could only get mom involved.....

 

[voltagehound]

On christmas of last year I bought my son of 11 yrs. a traditions tennesse 50cal. This rifle is a nice size for a young shooter. I started my son with 30gr. fff and we worked up to 70. I chose this gun for the size and also the cal. is large enough that he can deer hunt with it next year. this is a fullstock gun with a hooked breech and a little extra brass. I have more fun watching him shoot than I do shooting myself. GOOD LUCK

 

[Vairochana]

Good one- I haven't got kids myself yet but when I do I hope I can take them shooting when they are ready

 

[paulvallandigham]

Congratulations on helping your daughter find out she can do anything she wants to do. As for your wife, if men were as kind to their girlfriends and wives as they are to their young girls when it comes to guns, women would be shooting right along side of us. I think that is why men hand them heavy guns, with stout loads, and don't tell them how to hold the gun, or protect themselves from the recoil that is about to pound their shoulders- they don't want women out shooting them!

When you get that lighter weight, small caliber .36, or .32 rifle for your daughter to shoot, ask you wife to come out and help train her to shoot it. Once she understands she can lift and hold it, and shoot it without worrying about being kicked, she may just become a shooter, and want her own gun.

Women don't generally have the upper body strength that men do, and most of our guns are stocked too long, and are too heavy. On top of that, the toe of the buttstock digs into their chest muscles, and bruises them, simply because a woman's ribcage is more barrel shaped than that of most men. Women need stocks shortened, and more down pitch given to the butt to be comfortable. Actually, men can shoot these rifles easier, too, but they would die rather than admit it!

Among men, shooting is a masculinity contest, with a lot of testosterone flowing as we try to prove to the other men present how manly we are. That is why we constantly overload the guns with powder charges. As a wise man explained to my brother a few months back as he was telling my brother why he was shooting only 27.5 grains of FFg powder in his 50 cal. rifle, " The ball only needs to pierce the paper at 25 yds to score." He had developed loads for 25, 50, 75, and 100 yds, that all used the same sight picture, but involved different powder charges for each distance. His 100 yd. load, BTW, was right up there with the strong loads frequently mentioned here by other .50 cal. rifle shooters.

So, back those loads down, and find the women a lighter weight gun to hold and shoot. You may just find your self selling or trading off that cannon you " Just had to have " when you were younger, and hunting with a lighter gun, and smaller caliber, yourself. There is a lot of adventure, and satisfaction to be had from shooting tree rats with a flintlock.

 

[marwat06]

Among men, shooting is a masculinity contest, with a lot of testosterone flowing as we try to prove to the other men present how manly we are. That is why we constantly overload the guns with powder charges.

HEY I DON"T DO THAT!!!

Ouch, wonder why my right shoulder always hurts after a day on the range :grin: :grin:

As for a kids starter gun, take a look at the CVA Bobcat, $59.00 at Wal-Mart. I don't know what your budget is like, but it a great starter gun and a great little shooter. It a 50 Cal but you can always load it down. My son shoots one and his about to out shoot his old man pretty soon.

 

[Slamfire]

Midsouth has one .32 Traditions Crocket listed on their web site. :winking:

 

[Lancer]

Glad to hear that there are others out there who enjoy teaching their daughters about the sport. :hatsoff: I have 4 daughters :shocked2: and my two oldest love to shoot. The oldest, 14, has a beautiful .40 cal Mowery and is the NC State Junior Champ three years running. :thumbsup: (Can't find any boys to shoot against here and her sister) :rotf: . Her sister, 12, started out with a .32 Squirrel youth model. I just won a .50 CVA Frontier Carbine which they both promptly laid claim to once I won it . This one will go to the 12 yr old to shoot with. The .32 will be given away next year to a deserving kid with the only requirement that they must shoot it.

The 12 yr old is really into it as she also loves to throw the hawk and knife and will not let me start a campfire unless she tries first with her flint and steel. I keep inviting the neighborhood boys down to the shoot but I keep ending up bringing girls down there :youcrazy: . With no sons though, I am awfully proud of my two girls and expect the other two to start sometime soon as well. The only worry I have right now is making sure they try and stay with this after they find boyfriends.

 

[Lonegun1894]

Hope I didnt give the wrong impression. The bosslady is definitely a shooter too, she just prefers centerfire handguns. I have had a hard time getting her to handle long guns of any kind though. The only ones I have gotten her to shoot have been the kids .22, a Winchester 94 in .30-30, and a 20ga shotgun I refinished and "customized" for her for mothers day of this year. Now that little shotgun fits her very well and I know she can handle hers and the kids safety with it when i'm not home. As for her handgun skills, well, i try not to make her mad. She has gotten to the point where she doesnt shoot at bullseyes or silhouettes. She puts up a bunch of paper plates and shoots the staples holding them up with the goal being to drop each plate off the backboard with one shot a piece. And she does this with a couple of Sigs, one in .40 and the other in .45. I think i'll keep her around as long as she lets me stay. Now as far as MLs go, she says they seem like too much trouble and then tells me how many rounds she wants me to load before the next time we go out again, which is usually at least once a week. So she's definitely a shooter. She just has her preferences in weapons. She has been taught how to handle all the weapons, just in case, and she can handle all the stout loads, but i load almost everything we shoot myself so eevrything she shoots is loaded to her comfort level. I dont want her scared of or hurt by any of it. Lets put it this way, when she tried my .45-70, she complained about the rifles weight and lenght, but said it kicked like a .22LR. So several calibers i have my loads and her loads separate for. So far it's worked. I have a lady who can handle every weapon we have, and enjoys shooting with me. Half the time she is the one who complains about that we dont shoot enough. The other half it is the daughter who does the complaining. I teach at the range we shoot at so I get my fix during the classes, but nothing compares to watching her and the daughter out there having a great time and enjoying themselves. So I know what you mean about the way we tend to overload our weapons and the fit being different for us and the ladies. And about them outshooting us. Personally, she can outshoot me with a handgun when we go for staples, and i dont have much chance against her if the target is closer than about 50 yards. But I was trained differently than she was and i am still trying to break some of the habits that i was taught, while she was taught right from the start cause i knew what mistakes i was taught by the time she started learning. She is a great shot and i just have to make sure i behave myself like i should anyways, cause that little lady knows how to keep me in check.... :bow:

 

[GreyWhiskers]

Lonegun,

Sounds like you're working on a new shootin' partner. :thumbsup: I was glad to see some youngsters totin' M/L rifles at a rendezvous this weekend. Some were as young as 10 or 11. One young lady used long buffalo sticks to shoot the trailwalk.

Youngsters are the future. The more of them we introduce to M/Loaders, the better. GW

 

[Lonegun1894]

I've been working on this one for quite some time now. She has been shooting since she was 5. Up until now, it has been mostly .22s. Last week, she wanted to try my 12ga. Then a .308, and a .45-70. Then yesterday it was the .50 ML. Anything that kicks she has me hold while she aims and pulls the trigger. Now if that doesnt teach you follow through, nothing will. Anyway. She has been shooting for a while and not too long ago, she went through a concealed handgun course I was teaching. Too young to get a license but I figured the safety aspect can only help so why not. Well, she outshot several of the adults during the qualification. Used a .22 revolver, which is too small to qualify with legally, but since she cant get a license anyway, no one complained about her using the small gun. I figure kids are our future so we have a chance to affect the world when we raise one. And we can either do things right, or screw things up. Either way, we reap what we sow. :thumbsup:

 

[jderrick]

ahh, sweet....

 

[Frank Briggs]

I've noticed lately that Dads in general are teaching little Suzie how to shoot as much or maybe even more than they are teaching little Johnny.

I sorta suspect that these dads are recognizing the fact that a beautiful young lady just might need some skills to survive in the world we live in today.

I'm all for it, and good on ya for teaching that young girl.

My grand daughter is seven. I'm waiting for her to show any interest at all before I start teaching her.

I have a Red Ryder BB gun stashed for that moment.

Hopefully she will be one of the few that will decide to be a shooter.

Meanwhile, here's a pic of Grandmaw... (I hope the black rifle doesn't offend any one)

We're working on her right now. (Take you finger off the trigger if you're not going to shoot, honey)She likes the AR15 carbine because it's light, the adjustable stock fits her, and the recoil is mild.

I hope to get her to shoot my Thompson soon. I think a relaxing afternoon lobbing some roundballs down range would do her some good.

 

[Lonegun1894]

Just dont give up on her. Took me years to get the BossLady to handle anything that isnt a handgun. She now shoots a 20 ga Mossberg I modified for her, and occasionally will shoot the daughter's .22, but for the most part, she had sworn off long guns for years, and still keeps telling me a ML is too much trouble to be worth shooting. I'm sorry, but if i want fast, I take my AR or FAL. But if i want a relaxing time at the range, i take a ML, or a centerfire and a case of eggs startegically placed at least 300yds away for the CF. Now for the ML, putting big holes in anything is relaxing so any target is in trouble if i do my part, the planets align, the sun and wind are just right, and everything else you can think of goes just right. The rest of the time, well, i get to make lots of pretty smoke....

As for teaching the ladies in my life, I figure they need it more than i and the rest of us guys do, and I know i cant be there at all times. The boss thinks i am too protective at times, but at the same time, she doesnt hesitate to step aside and let me handle any situation that arises. And i can do so knowing that if the worst happens, she has her training and a couple extra weapons to fall back on if i am unable to protect her and the kids cause i'm already down. Now the daughter will be able to grow up and go into adulthood knowing she can prtect herself and her family if the job falls on her someday. Either way, the ladies are safe, aware, and independent, as they should be.